Could This Major Grant by Paul Allen Signal Deeper Climate Giving to Come?
One of Seattle billionaire Paul Allen’s major philanthropic priorities has long been ocean conservation and research. But we’ve also seen an apparent increasing interest in funding climate change work.
The tech donor’s latest major grant is right in the sweet spot between the two fields, a $4 million commitment that will back the deep ocean probes monitoring how ocean temperatures are changing.
The funding goes toward the work of Greg Johnson, who works for the NOAA running Argo, an array of nearly 4,000 floating probes that measure ocean salinity and temperature around the world. The sensors currently take measurements from the top 1.25 miles of ocean, and while Johnson has been eager to send probes deeper for years, the funding hasn’t been there. Allen’s people contacted the Seattle oceanographer to invite a proposal, resulting in financial support for the project and the use of a research vessel Allen personally owns. . .